Cloth spreading machine



Aug. 9, 1949.

R. E. SAYLES CLOTH SPREADING MACHINE Filed Oct. 27, 1947 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.-

ATTORNEY.

Aug. 9, 1949. R. E. SAYLES CLOTHISIREADING-MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed 001,- 27, 1947 llllhjlu M6 llllh ATTORNEY Patented Aug. 9, 1949 UNITED-I STATES PATENT OFFICE Raymond E. Sayles, Kansas City, Mo.

7 Application October 27, 1947, Serial No. 782,286

This invention has to do with a machine for feeding cloth or like flexible material from a roll or bolt thereof and spreading the same in long sheets relatively superimposed preparatory to subsequent use in the making 'of wearing apparel and other articles, the primary object being to provide such machine that is reciprocable over the surface upon which the cloth is to be spread and adaptable to spread the cloth as the machine reciprocates in either direction and further capable of spreading the cloth with all sheets thereof facing in the same direction or with the faces thereof alternately disposed as desired.

The most important object of this invention is the provision of a cloth spreading machine having a reciprocable carriage provided with a rotatable cloth supporting frame to the end that the frame may be shifted at each end of the path of travel of the carriage whereby cloth may be spread in either direction of travel of the carriage, and further whereby a predetermined face of the cloth may be disposed upwardlywirrespective of the direction of travel of the carriage and frame thereon. I

.Another important object of this invention is the provision of a cloth spreading machine having a wheeled carriage, one of the wheels thereof providing the power' for rotating a roll of cloth to be spread through the medium not only of a rotatable element frictionally engaging the roll of cloth, but through a rotatable member frictionally receiving the-cloth as the same unwinds from the roll.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a cloth spreading machine of the aforementioned character having an assembly of parts rendering the feeding mechanism for the roll of cloth operable to rotate the roll of cloth in a given direction irrespective of the relative position of the rotatable frame upon the carriage, and also operable in thesame manner with the frame in either of two positions relative tothe carriage.

A further object of this invention is to pro- ,vide a cloth spreading machine having a swingable apron on the rotatable frame for receiving the cloth being fed from the roll thereof and disposed in overlying relationship to the carriage, said machine. having structure operable automatically to swing the apron to a position clearing the carriage as the frame is rotated to and from the two positions above mentioned with respect to the reciprocable carriage.

A still further object .of this invention is the provision of a cloth spreading machine having 13 Claims. (Cl. 270-31) manually manipulable structure operably associated with the aforesaid automatic apron swinging means for swinging the apron to and from a number of selected positions and capable of so swinging the apron independently of the rotation of the frame upon the carriage.

Other objects of this invention include the manner in which .a train of gears, shafts, sprocket wheels and interconnecting chains are arranged between one of the rotatable wheels of the carriage and the cloth feeding means to permitrotation of the roll of cloth in one direction irrespective of the direction'of rotation of the wheel, there being manually controllable elements for reversing the direction of travel of certain of said gears as thedirection of travel of the reciprocable carriage is reversed; the way in which such mechanism is rendered operable to rotate the roll of cloth in one direction irrespective of the relative positions of the frame and the carriage; and numerous other details of construction and arrangement of parts, all of which will be made clear or become apparent during the course of the following specification taken with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is an end elevational. view of a cloth spreading machine made in accordance with my present invention.

Fig. 2 is a fragmentaryend elevational view thereof opposite to that shown in Fig. 1.

Fig.3 is a rear elevational view thereof, parts being broken away to reveal details of construction.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional. view taken on line IV--IV of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on line VV of Fig. 3, looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross sectional view taken on line VI--VI of Fig. 5 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Previous attempts have been made to produce machines capable of spreading cloth in superimposed layers over a fiat surface as the same is removed from a roll thereof, but heretofore such machines have been unsatisfactory for the reason that they were incapable of spreading the cloth during both directions of reciprocation of the machine or were incapable of, at the same time, disposing the same side of each sheet of cloth in the same direction. These objections and many others have been overcome in the machine about to be described which, as shown in the drawings, includes a reciprocable carriage broadly designated-by the numeral 10. v

This carriage II] includes a pair of spaced apart substantially triangular-shaped plates I2 joined together at their uppermost end by an elongated channel-shaped frame member I4.

A pair of spaced apart rods I6 spaced below this frame member I4 also span the distance between the plates I2 and interconnect the plates I2. One of these plates I2 is provided with a pair of spaced apart wheels I8 rotatably mounted thereon and movable along a flatsurface Mover which the carriage I reciprocates and upon which surface 20 the cloth is to be spread as here: inafter more fully set forth.

The other plate thereon a pair of pulley wheels 2I movable alongand guided by an elongated L- shaped trackZZ; mounted in any suitable man'ne'r'updn thesur' face 20.

A frame broadly designated by the numeral 24 nd is osed ove e eiiia e i i rotatab y supported by the frame member I4 of'carriage 12-" h me 24 in u s a i of paced apart lip-standing arms '26 each mounted at their we ii s end pon. an elo a ed h nnel meii 106?"; A r mm no h 3 s cut i to Qai h of the arms 24 at their. uppermost ends and apair of rollers 34 mounted thereon adjacent the apex or each n c 32, ota ab r i the. n o a spindle 3B for a roll of cloth 38. In other words, his ro1l'0fc10 8 id be Sp ead, s' d s qsd'b tween'the arms 24 and its spindle 36 loosely resting upon the rollers 3; adjacent the notches 32 Means for rotatably mounting the frame 24 and all parts carried thereby, on a normally sub- Sfiantially vertical axis, is clearly illustrated in Ei'gs.5 and 6 of the'd'rawings.

A vertically disposed cylinder 40 is secured in nte d a onsh p to p a e 42 which. in rn is. -w ld d orfoth rw ach d to the mem er 2Q offrame 24 and within the channel defined thereby. This'cynnder. in is teles oped'ovtran ps n s ppo n mem er 43 c ed t he up rm f e of e iam'mmbtlf fi I h carriage I0 intermediate the ends thereof This member 43 is circular in cross seetion andhas an outs de. diamete s i ly less han t e ins de diameter of the'cylinder 4a to tnejgnd thatthe latter is freely rotatable thereon.

A laterally and upwardly extending flange 14 integral with the member 43 near, the lowermost d th f P IOV des a surfacer r receiving the normally lowermost 'end of the cylinder 18. Jne i t w s 18. o the a r e '0 has ew thereto and rotatable therewith; a sprocket wheel 46 for receiving an endless chain 43 thatalso passes around a splfock'etfill. This sprocket bl) is mounted upon one end of ashait 52 which passes through one of the plates I2"o f carriage IO' and terminates at its opposite end near'the supporting means 42 for the frame '24. 'I'hisinnerniost end of the shaft 52 is rotatably mounted in" a bearing 54 depending from the frame member I4 ofthe carriage I0. Shaft 52 has 'slidably mounted thereon near the floearing 54, a sleeve 56th'at is held forrota tioh with the Shaft/52 by a 58 m 0ll hte d in shaft 52 and extending laterally therefrom. This pin 58 passes through an elongated slot Gdformed inthe sleeve 55.

A pair of pinions 62 and 64 are secured directly e e end e t ve b h ieve h pinions 62 64 are also each slidable on theshalft 52' with the sleeve 55. Reciprocation' r" the pinions G2,'an l time the shaft 52 1 a; omplishe'd manually through the mediumof aU-sliap'd I2 has rotatably mounted 4 bracket 66 having the legs thereof slidably mounted upon the shaft 52 through the medium of openings 68 therein, said pinions 62 and B4 and sleeve 56 being disposed between the two legs of bracket 66.

A rod 10 having one end thereof pivotally mounted upon the bracket 66 as at 12, extends in substantially parallelism with the frame member I' lvthrough one of the plates I2 having pulley whlsfzifmqiinted thereon? This rod n is slidable within an opening formed in said plate I2 and has its end turned laterally to form a handle IQ. It is clear that as handle 14 is grasped by the operator, the rod I0 may be reciprocated and thereby cause the pinions 62 and 64 to slide upon the shaft 52.' The end of the shaft 52 adjacent the ibea'iing'fl directly underlies a bevel gear I6 mounted upon one end of a vertical shaft 18 passifig' throi'igh an opening formed in the supporti s mem e Th n e b tween e lain 52* ages; is greaterthan'the diam ter o the we. fe 'r iii i a t i i s' t ma be. d ose nt/ tra 'e eii nf s. i trated in Figl 3." the rod III ismdved inwardly, t e pinion GQ'wilI be brought into meshing relationship with the gearlfifio rotatatne'latter' one direction as the shaftifrotates in'a'given direction and when the rod, remove bu was the t me a" w l a: t t. o era e n em nt th he t? '7 r e the latter in anf'opposi'ted'ire'ctlon when shaft 52 'rotates in said iv'entir'tneil. The vertical a t i a t sen ev ar i i t o t erm t i ifwi the yli fi l'fl- It not le aim i t i' ei tt member 43 terminates in spaced relation ream the'u'pp ermost end or the cylinder Qu to provide clearance for this gear 8'2 and for a pair'of gears Q4 and '86 enmeshedwithgear 82 in relative opposed relationship, The gear 8 5 is, mounted upon the i t, 'nd ef st i isi a t ifii that e as 't roi e li e r ii i 0, a d/ a a i i d o its outermoste'nd'a sprocket wheel 911. An elone naii q ei l oun e th d f me mi ibe .8 ae' p zo i ei' i e ed hiet nte med a its ends. a i e i ss chain '95" operably interconnects the sprocket Whk 0, 1-

" V v d .1 e d. f. .1 hei ext nd outwa t rou end w l i j he' i b l i a d, as a p cket li 'l c i eni li reta A pair of upstanding" arms, [0g are swin gably m u te at we emi the o 9? pe nd's respectively of the shaft are are j'pined by a tie fed an. 'rnesarms lppa 'd sposed to o e side of the farms'2'6 r na 24 endure interconnected at their u'pper'mpsp endsby arotatiaple' shaft in: that b n tmtr a a de a n e over the sprocket 9B and "a sprocket I015 secured ta ng a a h ha m2: j le i ,5 ubstantia ly e te ir in en with the shaft T02 is disposed between the arms Hill and secured to the shaft I02 for rotation therewith. This roller IQ8:i S covered with a suitable roughened material M0 for 'frictio'rially' engaging the rates and the roller |,oa i yieldably held tightly against the roll of cloth fia by a spring H12 interconnecting leas one or the arms I II O 5 h, iifiifiiiqii m ll' n, 1

e err n a a i lf i qifhe ew n he gear. warm. he e l n e 4. s. maimed" u 'Q'n one end or ester; 1 I 4.""1l1is sha ft flitfrf t tab passes through the 'cylind r 40'" in diametrically opposed relationship tot he v stub shaft; 85 and terminatesat its opposite end'n'earthe 'oute'rl most face of one of the arms 26 next adjacent to the arm I00 having chain I04 disposed therealong.

This shaft II4 rotatably passes through an opening within this arm 26 and has secured to its outermost end a sprocket wheel H6. The frame member 28 carries a laterally extending substantially horizontal arm I I8 that projects oppositely to the shaft92.

A roller I also wrapped with frictionable ma-. terial' (not shown) as at IIO with respect to the roller I08, spans the distance between these two arms-1J8 near their outermost ends. A shaft I22 for this roller I20 rotatably mounted within the arms I I8 carries a sprocket wheel I24 at one end thereof. The sprockets H6 and I24 are interconnected by an endless chain I26 that also passes over an idler sprocket I28. A roller I29, rotatably mounted between the arms H8 inwardly from the elongated roller I20, has an outturned flange I30 at each end thereof.

As shown in Fig. 5, a pair of spaced apart L- shaped brackets I3I mounted upon the member 28 adjacent the arms H8 rotatably carry a shaft I32 extending between the arms H8 substantially parallel to the rollers I26 and I30 and slightly therebelow.

An apron broadly designated by the numeral I34 comprises a pair of spaced apart arms I35, each secured at one end thereof directly to the shaft I32 and having a pair of rollers I35 and I31 interconnecting their opposite ends. These rollers I 36 and I31 are spaced apart and substantially parallel and are also parallel with the shaft I32. This apron I34 normally overlies the carriage I0 and extends at an angle downwardly and forwardly from the arms II8 that mount rollers I20 and I30.

It is thus seen that the apron I34 is swingable on a horizontal axis with the shaft I32 and means for holding apron I34 in a given position includes a link I38. This link I38 is pivotally mounted intermediate its ends as at I40 upon a bracket I42 depending from the plate 42, An arm I44 rigidly secured to the shaft I32 is conneeted to the link I38 by a short link I46. This link I46 is pivotally connected at the endsthereof with the dog I44 and the link I38 respectively. The link I38 carries at the end thereof opposite to the link I46, a roller I48 disposed to ride along the uppermost edge I50 of the flange 44'. In other words, this flange 44 extends upwardly from the member I4 in circumscribing relationship to the lowermost end of the cylinder 40.

A pair of diametrically opposed notches I52 are formed in the uppermost edge I50 of the flange 44 in the path of travel of the roller I48. It is thus seen that as the frame 24 is rotated upon the carriage I0 to either of two positions where the roll of cloth 38 is substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis of the cartridge I8, the roller I48 will be disposed in one of the two diametrically opposed notches I52, but as the frame 24 is rotated, this roller I48 will move to the edge I50 of flange 44 and thereby cause the apron I34 to swing upwardly to a point where the same will clear the carriage I0 as the frame 24 is thus rotated.

The height of the lowermost edge of the apron I34 with respect to the surface 26 may be adjusted manually through mechanism engageable with the arm I38. This mechanism includes a short vertically disposed reciprocable bar I54 slidably mounted on a bracket I56 depending from member 28 and rotatably receiving a rod I60. This rod I60 extends through one end of the member 28 and has secured thereto near one end thereof a disc-like cam member I62.- This member I62 is eccentrically secured to the rod I60 and overlies the uppermost end of thebar I54. The opposite end-of the rod I60 has a cog wheel I64 secured thereto and a handle I66 disposed outwardly from the cog wheel I64 permits'man-s ual rotation of the rod I60.

A swingable dog I68 is yieldably held in a position engageable with the cog wheel I64. by a spring I10. Rotation of the rod I60 and the cam member I62 thereon will move the bar I54 downwardly'and' thus actuate the arm I38 on pivot point I48 to raise the apron I34 to desired positions.

'The dog I68 serves to hold the apron I34. in such selected position. This manually operable mechanism just described obviously has no effect upon the automatic means for raising apron I34 just previously described since the arm I38 is free to swing independently of the bar I54 and cam I62. I

A pair of shoes I12 depending from each end of the member .28 respectively, ride across a vertically reciprocable pin I 14 as the frame 24 is re tated upon the carriage I0. This pin I14 is slidably mounted within the member I 4and a spring I16 coiled thereabout, yieldably holds the same at the uppermost end of its path of travel.

A T-shaped handle I 18 having one end thereof extending through a plate I2 of carriage I0, has an extension I88 secured to one leg of the handle I18 near its innermost end, this extension I being slotted at its free end for slidably receiv-' ing the pin I 14. As the handle I18 is rotated in one direction, the extension I80 moves against a collar I 82 on the pin I14 pulling the sam'edownwardly against the action of the spring I16 and removing said pin I14 from within an opening I84 formed in the respective shoe I12 so disposed above pin I14.

As shown in Fig. 3, the manually m'anipulable rod"!!! is provided with three cavities I86 forjreceiving the lowermost pointed end of a spring loaded pin I88 mounted within one of the plates I2. Through the use of this pin I 88, the rod 10 is held in either of the two operative positions of pinions 62 and 64 or in the neutral position.

I In operation, the roll of cloth 38 is placed upon the arms 24 and the cloth itself threaded downwardly below the rollers I30 between rollers I20 and I30 and over the top of the roller I20. This cloth then extends downwardly to the apron I34 and toward the rollers I36 and I31 thereof. As clearly indicated in Fig. 1, the cloth extends over the roller I31 between rollers I36 and I 31 and under the roller I36. As the carriage I0 is reciprocated' to the right when viewing Fig; 1, the roll 38 will be rotated in a'direction to unwind the cloth thereof and the roller I20 will be rotated to exert a pulling action on said cloth in the following manner:

Rotation of the one wheel I8 having sprocket 46 thereon will cause rotation of the shaft 5'2 in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig.3 of the drawing, which will be the same direction of rotation as that of wheel I8. When pinion 62 is moved into meshing relationship with the gear 16 to rotate the gear 82, the shaft II4 will be caused to rotate in the opposite direction as that of the sprocket 46, thereby causing roller I26 to rotate by medium of the chain I26 in a direction to exert a pulling action upon the cloth from the roll 38 thereof. Simultaneously, when the pinion 621s in operative engagement with gear 16; the

gear 86 will rotate in a direction to cause rotation of the sprockets wand 94, and consequently, the shaft 92- in the same direction as the rotation of" sprocket 46. This will cause the roller I08 to rotate in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 1, thereby actuating the roll 38 in a cloth feeding direction;

If desired, when the carriage I II has beenmoved to theopposite end of the surface 20, the cloth may either be cut or folded'upon itself and the next layer of cloth spread thereon as the carriage II! isreciprocatedback tothe-point of beginning. When the carriage I is thus returned to its point of beginning, obviously, the wheel I8 having sprocket 4B thereon will rotate in a direction opposite to that just above described'and therefore, the rod Ill must be actuated to move the pinion- 62. out. of engagement with the gear 16 and to place pinion 64 into meshin relationship with the gear 16. Such reversal of the parts will cause the roller I22 to rotate in the same direction as'the sprocket 46 and the roller I08 to rotate in adirection opposite to that of sprocket 46. i

It is notable that the roller I08 always travels ingthe same directionas indicated by the arrowin Fig.1. It is further to benoted that the roller I20 always rotates in a direction opposite tothe direction of rotation I 08; irrespective of the direction of, travel of: carriage I0 and regardless of the;position of the frame 24 upon the carriage I0.

Whenthe machine is operated as just above described, the layers of cloth on the surface 20 will have their outermost faces alternately disposed. This may be objectionable in many cases when such layers of cloth are subsequently worked with and therefore, to-the end that each layermay have the same face thereof disposed upwardly, the frame 24 is rotated to an opposite position with respect to; carriage II) at each end of the path of travel of carriage Ill. When the machine is operated in this manner, the cloth must be cut at the end of each spreading operation and by releasing the pin I14; the frame 24 and all parts thereon, may be rotated upon carriage I0. When this is done, the roller I48 on arm I38 will move from one of the notches I52 and ride along the edge I53 to raise the apron I34 to a position clearing the carriage I0. When the frame 24 has been completely turned to a position where the opposite shoeI'I2 engages the pin I14, the roller I48 will move into the opposite notch I52, thereby returning the apron I34 togthe original operative: position as, governed by, the position of bar I54. After suchrotation of fthe frame 24 has-taken-place, the pinions-62 and 64 are reversed in the same manner as above described and another layer of cloth: is spread with the same face disposed upwardly as :wastrue in the 'layerof the cloth next below. Asthestack of spread cloth increases in height upon thesurface 20, the apron I34 is progressively raised by actuating the handle I66. A grip I9Don one'of the plates l2 of the carriage I0 havingthehan dle I18 therein, permits easy manualreciprocation of the carriage it) along guiding track:22;

One of the most important featuresof this-inventionas will readily become apparent to those skilled in the art, lies in-the fact that asthe machine is placed in operation-and as the frame 2.4.;isrotated upon the carriage I ll at each-end of the path of travel ofithe latter, norethreading of I the cloth whatsoever is necessary within the plurality of rollers I39, I20, I31. and I36; In other, words, when rotation of the frame 24.takes place, the entireassemblydisposed above the carriage Ill and rotatable thereon, is'move'd as a unit. It is also notable that this cloth spreading machinediffers from conventional devices of this character in that there is no need for cloth catching clamps or weights. In other words, as the carriagereciprocates, there is no tendency whatsoever to pull the length of cloth upon the surface 2|] along with carriage II], thereby eliminating the necessity of having means for holding suchspread cloth in place as the machine reciprocates.

This feature-is made possible by the exertion of driving force upon the roll of cloth 38 through the medium of the roller I08.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A cloth=spreadin machine of the kind set forthcomprisin a reciprocable wheeled carriage; a frame on the carriage having means for rotatably supporting av roll of cloth to be spread; structure operably connected to at least one of. the wheels of said carriage for rotating said roll of cloth as said one Wheel rotates during movementof the carriage; and manually controllable mechanism for rendering saidstructure operable to rotate the roll of cloth in one predetermined direction irrespective of the direction of travel of said-carriage, said structure including a rotatable member having means for yieldably holding the same in frictional engagementwith the roll of cloth.

2.. A cloth spreading machine of the kind set forth comprisin a reciprocable wheeled carriage; a frame on the carriage havin means for rotatably supporting aroll of cloth to be spread; structure operably connected to at least one of the wheels of said carriage for rotating said roll of cloth as said one Wheel rotates during movement of the carriage; and manually controllable mechanism for rendering said structure operable to rotate the roll of cloth in one predetermined direction irrespective of' the direction of travel of said carriage, saidstructure including a rotatable member having means for yieldably holding the same-in frictional engagement with the roll of cloth, a. driven shaft and a drive shaft operably joined to the member and said one Wheel respectively, and a train of gearsinterconnecting said shafts.

3. A cloth spreading machine of the kind set forth comprising a reciprocable wheeled carriage; a frame on the carriage having means for rotatably supportin a roll of cloth to be spread; structure operably'connected to at least one of the-wheelsof said carriage for rotating said roll of cloth as said one wheel rotatesduringmovement of the carriage; and manually controllable mechanism for rendering said structure operable to-rotate the roll of cloth in onepredetermined direction irrespective of the direction of travel of said carriage, said structure includinga rotatable member havin means for yieldably holding the same infrictional engagement with the roll of cloth, a driven shaft and a drive shaft operably joined to the member and said one wheel respectively, and a train of gears interconnecting said shafts, said mechanismincluding a pair of drive gears forminga partof said train of gears and shiftable alternately to and from a position operably interconnecting said shafts.

4. A- cloth spreadin machine of the charatcer described comprisinga reciprocable carriage; a frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means thereon for supporting a roll of cloth to be spread; structure having parts on the carriage and on the frame respectively for feeding the cloth from said-roll-thereof as the carriage 'rec iprocates; and manually controllable mechanism for rendering said structure operable to feed said cloth from one predetermined side of carriage and on the frame respectively for feeding the cloth from said roll thereof as the carriage reciprocates; manually controllable mechanism for rendering said structure operable to feed said cloth from one predetermined sideof the frame when said frame is rotated to either of two positions relative to said carriage;; and an apron mounted on said one side of the frame for receiving the cloth being fed from the roll.

6. A cloth spreading machine of the character described comprising a reciprocable carriage; a frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means thereon for supporting a roll of cloth to be spread; structure having parts on the carriage and on the frame respectively for feeding the cloth from said roll thereof as the carriage reciprocates; manually controllable mechanism for rendering said structure operable to feed said cloth from one predetermined side of the frame when said frame is rotated to either of two positions relative to said carriage; and an apron mounted on the said one side of the frame i for swinging movement to and from a position overlying said carriage, said apron receiving the cloth being fed from said roll.

7. A cloth spreading machine of the character described comprising a reciprocable carriage; a

frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means thereon for supporting a roll of cloth to be spread; structure having parts on the carriage and one the frame respectively for feeding the cloth from said roll thereof as the carriage reciprocates; manually controllable mechanism for rendering said structure operable to feed said cloth from one predetermined side of the frame when said frame is rotated to either of two positions relative to said carriage; an

apron mounted on the said one side of the frame for swinging movement to and from a position overlying said carriage, said apron receiving the cloth being fed from said roll; and apparatus having parts on the frame and carriage respectively for automatically swinging said apron to and from a position clearing said carriage as the frame is rotated on the carriage.

8. A cloth spreading machine of the character described comprising a reciprocable carriage; a frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means thereon for supporting a roll of cloth to be spread; structure having parts on the carriage and one the frame respectively for feeding the cloth from said roll thereof as the carriage reciprocates; manually controllable mechanism for rendering said structure operable to feed said cloth from one predetermined side of the frame when said frame is rotated to either of two positions relative to said carriage; an apron mounted on the said one side of the frame for swinging movement to and from a position overlying said carriage, said apron receiving the cloth being fed from said roll; apparatus having parts on the frame and carriage respectively for automatically swinging said apron to and from a position clearing said'carriage as theframe is rotated on the carriage; and manually manipulable means'on saidlframe engageable with the parts of said apparatus on the frame for swinging said apron independently of rotation of the frame.

'. V :9. A cloth spreading machine of the character described comprising a reciprocable carriage; a framevrotatably mounted onsaid carriage and -;having means thereon for supporting a roll of cloth to be spread; structure having parts on the carriage and on the frame respectively for feeding the cloth from said roll thereof as the car- 'riage reciprocates; manually controllable mecha- ;nism for rendering said structure operable to feed said cloth from one; predetermined side of the frame whensaid frame is rotated to either of two positions relative to said carriage; an apron m0l1nted 0;n- .the said oneside of the framefor swinging movement to and from a position overlying said carriage, said apron receiving the cloth being fed from said roll; apparatus having parts on the frame and carriage respectively for automatically swinging said apron to and from a position clearing said carriage as the frame is rotated on the carriage; manually manipulable means on said frame engageable with the parts of said apparatus on the frame for swinging said apron independently of rotation of the frame; and elements forming a part of said last mentioned means for releasably holding said apron in a number of selected positions along its path of travel.

10. In a cloth spreading machine of the character described, a carriage; a frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means for supporting a quantity of the cloth to be spread; an apron swingably mounted on said frame in overlying relation to said carriage for receiving the cloth from said frame; and apparatus having parts on the frame and carriage respectively for automatically swinging said apron to and from a position clearing said carriage as the frame is rotated on the carriage.

11. In a cloth spreading machine of the character described, a carriage; a frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means for supporting a quantity of the cloth to be spread; an apron swingably mounted on said frame in overlying relation to said carriage for receiving the cloth from said frame; and apparatus having parts on the frame and carriage respectively for automatically swinging said apron to and from a position clearing said carriage as the frame is rotated on the carriage, said apparatus including a swingable link on said frame having one end thereof operably connected to said apron, and means on the carriage engageable with the opposite end of the arm for swinging the latter as the frame rotates.

12. In a cloth spreading machine of the character described, a carriage; a frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means for supporting a quantity of the cloth to be spread; an apron swingably mounted on said frame in overlying relation to said carriage for receiving the cloth from said frame; apparatus having parts on the frame and carriage respectively for automatically swinging said apron to and from a position clearing said carriage as the frame is rotated on the carriage, said apparatus including a swingable link on said frame having one end thereof operably connected to said apron, and means on the carriage engageable with the op- 11 posite end of the arm vfor swinging latter was the frame rotates; and manually manipnlable means on said frame :engageable with said link near said one end lthereofior swingingsaid apron independently of rotation of :the frame.

13. In a cloth spreading machine of the character described, a carriage; a frame rotatably mounted on said carriage and having means for supporting a quantity of the cloth to be spread; an apron swingably mounted on said frame in overlying relation to said carriage for receiving the cloth from said frame; apparatus having parts on the frame and carriage respectively for automatically swinging said apron to and from a position clearing said carriage as the frame is rotated on the carriage, said apparatus including a swingable link on said frame having one end thereof operably connected to said apron, and means on the carriage engageable with the opposite end of the arm for swinging the latter as "the Number bazr having one end thereof bearing against said link, and elements for holding the said cam in a number of selected positions whereby said apron :is rendered adjustable along its path o1 swinging movement.

RAYMOND E. :SAYLES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Breth Oct. 10, 1939 Scoles et al Sept. 12, 1944 

